Fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine
Ampliar
The most intense clashes are taking place near Lugansk, the capital of the same-named region that – along with neighboring Donetsk, also the capital of a region of the same name – proclaimed itself an independent people’s republic. EFE/File
Kyiv, Jul 13 (EFE).- Fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatist militia members resurged Sunday in eastern Ukraine, where government forces tried to close their cordons around the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk, the main secessionist bastions.
The most intense clashes are taking place near Lugansk, the capital of the same-named region that – along with neighboring Donetsk, also the capital of a region of the same name – proclaimed itself an independent people’s republic.
The seriousness of the situation led Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to decline the invitation extended by his Brazilian counterpart, Dilma Rousseff, to attend the World Cup closing ceremony at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium on Sunday.
“Ukrainian forces attacked the city from the town of Alexandrovsk. It is not simply shootouts. All this is occurring with the support of 50 armored cars and two attack aircraft,” a spokesman for the militias told Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The government troops used artillery to bombard the suburbs of Donetsk and concentrated forces on the city’s outskirts, pro-Russian groups said.
The Ukrainian government announced that it intends to besiege Donetsk and Lugansk with the aim of forcing the separatist militias to lay down their arms.